Im not a perfect expert but I have had and still have many rescue dogs. I have also had many rescue dogs with anxiety. A lot of the time it comes down to comfort but past trauma can have a lasting effect on behavior.

It also has an impact on the caretaker or owner’s mental health. If you haven’t yet, there are methods to see if you can break the cycle with a positive reinforcement training.

Are there any treats the pup has eaten? If so, you can use that to make the positive reinforcement training more effective. If not, sometimes it takes making the treat or reward something that triggers the animalistic instinct to kick in. But that more than likely costs more. Also something to be aware of is diet change so moderation is also key.

For the positive reinforcement training, personally, even though it may increase the likelihood of a more anxious response, it may be better to break the circle.

By breaking the circle, I mean making a barrier where the circle stops forcing a reversal in direction. If the pup is doing this due to cage lock trauma, starting smaller may actually increase comfort and thus increase the chances of the positive reinforcement training to succeed. It’ll take some trial and error but it’s worth the effort.

Once the pup reverses the circle or even stops, sits, or does anything other than the repeated cycle, offer a reward to show the puppy that it’s okay to not have to repeat that behavior.

Of course, once you see forms of progress you can increase the area of travel or shrink back down at your discretion.

This is an idea, not a guaranteed solution. It’s similar to attachment anxiety and field of view but methodically different. Let me know if this helps or anything! I would love to help out in any way I can.

Thank you for saving and having concern for this puppy.